Brian Cashman referred to Masahiro Tanaka as the Yankees’ third starter the other day. Not all third starters are created equal, of course. I mean, I doubt Tyler Chatwood does this:

Japanese baseball sensation Masahiro Tanaka chartered his own Boeing 787 Dreamliner to fly him to New York, with the entire plane taken up by his five-strong party and his pet dog.

The ace pitcher, who has just signed a seven-year MLB deal worth $US155 million ($A173.6 million) with the New York Yankees, is believed to have splashed out $US195,000 ($A218,000) of his own money on the one-way flight.

The dog, by the way, was not some large, fierce Kazak-like space hound that required sequestration. It’s a brown toy poodle. Seriously. So why the expense?

Tanaka paid for the plane so he could take part in the team’s camp “in the best of form”, a Japanese baseball official who accompanied him reportedly said.

Hernandez, 18, was signed by the Angels as an international free agent out of Venezuela in July 2015. This past year, in rookie ball, Hernandez posted a 2.64 ERA with a 44/22 K/BB ratio in 44 1/3 innings. MLB Pipeline rated him the Angels’ 24th-best prospect.

Montgomery, 23, was selected by the Angels in the eighth round of the 2016 draft. Between Single-A Burlington, High-A Inland Empire, and Double-A Mobile, Montgomery batted an aggregate .271/.358/.413 with eight home runs, 38 RBI, 62 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases in 434 plate appearances. MLB Pipeline rated him as the Angels’ 20th-best prospect.

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Angels will acquire second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Tigers. It is not known yet what the Tigers will receive in return. Kinsler had to waive his no-trade clause in order for the deal to happen.

Kinsler, 35, hit .236/.313/.412 with 22 home runs, 52 RBI, 90 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases in 613 plate appearances for the Tigers this past season. He’s in the final year of his contract and will earn $10 million for the 2018 season.

The Angels were certainly looking to upgrade at second base and did so with Kinsler. They were also reportedly interested in Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies.